by Nate Chinen

Nellie McKay

10/11/2009

An innocuous but oddly touching moment arrives not quite halfway through Normal As Blueberry Pie,
the new Verve platter by Nellie McKay. It’s an ostensible ad-lib on the Broadway standard “Crazy
Rhythm,” which she tackles with an old-fashioned insouciance. Addressing the
subject of the song as if it were animate, she assumes the inflection of
someone urging a stray mutt out of the kitchen. “Get on now, go,” she coos. And
then, a moment later: “Shoo! Shoo!”